Cardiff academic conference

BBC News reports that postgraduate students from Cardiff University and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama have organised a three-day academic conference examining Doctor Who. The event will be held at Cardiff University from November 14th to 16th this year, and members of the public will be able to attend.

Called "Whoniversal Appeal", the conference will involve presentations and discussions on various areas relating to the series. Its modern spin-offsTorchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures will also be discussed.

The conference is being chaired by an American student, 29-year-old Melissa Beattie from Buffalo, New York. She admits to only having become a fan of the series two years ago but said: "It shows the progression of society over 45 years and it's amazing to see what an impact it's had. Also I think it's a good way of getting rid of what I call ivory towers thinking. Using something like Doctor Who is a good way of finding a common ground. There's a lot of narrative density in a lot of them - you have epic scenes, mythical-religious scenes, plus again the reflection of modern society like quite a strong anti-war message."

The keynote speaker will be Dr Matt Hills, from Cardiff University's School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies. More information can be found at the official website of the event, here.